THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS 


AND  PEOPLE. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS  AND  PEOPLE. 


A  LECTURE 


DELIVERED   AT    THK 


U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM 


I'MiKR    TIIF.   AUSPICES     OF     THF.     SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION    AND    OF 

TICK    ANTHROPOLOGICAL    AND    BIOLOGICAL   SOCIKTIF.S 

OF    WASHINGTON. 


FEBRUARY   g-rn,    1884, 


CAPT.  C.  E.   BUTTON,  U.  S.  A., 

U.    S.    GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


WASHINGTON  : 

JUDD    A    DETWEILER,    PRINTERS. 
1884. 


HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS  AND  PEOPLE. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

The  Hawaiian  Islands  are  the  summits  of  a  gigantic  sub- 
jharine  mountain  range.  If  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  were 
removed  from  their  vicinity  we  might  behold  a  range  of 
mountains  as  long  as  our  Appalachian  system,  from  Lake 
Champlain  to  Chattanooga  and  quite  as  wide,  with  summits 
five  times  as  high  as  Mt.  Washington.  The  summits  of 
Mauua  Loa  and  Mauna  Kea  are  nearly  14,000  feet  above 
the  ocean,  and  their  bases  are  from  15,000  to  18,000  feet 
beneath  it.  Referred  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  those 
mountains  are  higher  than  the  Himalayas.  Standing  upon 
the  northeastern  coast  of  Hawaii  the  crest  of  Mauna  Kea 
is  less  than  twenty  miles  away,  and  is  nearly  three  miles 
above  us.  At  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles  at  sea  the 
ocean  floor  is  about  three  and  a  half  miles  below  us.  I  am 
not  aware  of  any  other  place  in  the  world  where,  along  a 
line  less  than  fifty  miles  in  length,  may  be  found  a  differ- 
ence in  altitude  of  more  than  six  miles. 

The  Hawaiian  group  consists  of  four  larger  and  four 
smaller  islands.  The  largest  island  is  named  Hawaii.  It 
lias  a  length  of  about  ninety  miles  and  a  width  of  seventy 
miles.  Its  area  is  very  nearly  4,000  square  miles,  being  a 

GEOGRAPHY 


little  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  the  entire  group. 
It  is  not,  however,  the  most  |M>pulous,  for  that  distinction 
belongs  to  the  island  of  Oahu,  on  which  is  situated  the 
principal  town  and  capital,  Honolulu,  which  is  the  center 
of  trade  and  the  seat  of  the  government. 

Only  a  small  portion  of  each  island  is  capable  of  sustain- 
ing a  dense  population.  The  interiors  are  mountainous  and 
generally  rough,  craggy,  and  cut  with  profound  gorges  of 
the  wildest  description.  The  habitable  portions  are  near 
the  sea-coast,  forming  a  ring  around  each  island  ;  but  only 
a  jwirt  of  each  ring  is  habitable  or  cultivable.  Some  por- 
tions are  intensely  arid  and  barren  ;  others  are  covered 
with  recent  Hoods  of  lava,  and  still  others  are  bounded  by 
lofty  rocky  coasts,  and  trenched  with  ravines  so  deep  and 
abrupt  that  access  is  difficult.  Generally  speaking,  the 
proportion  of  habitable  area  is  singularly  small.  But  those 
l>ortions  which  are  well  favored  are  probably  capable  of 
sustaining  as  dense  a  population  a*  any  tracts  in  the  world. 

The  climate  of  these  islands  is  the  climate  of  Paradise. 
It  is  never  hot,  and,  except  at  considerable  altitudes,  it  is 
never  cold.  Rarely  has  the  thermometer  been  known 
to  reach  90°  on  the  sea-coast,  or  to  fall  below  (55°.  The 
temj>erature  in  most  localities  may  be  averaged  the  year 
round  as  varying  between  7o°  and  <S.)°.  But  while  the 
temperature  of  any  given  locality  is  very  uniform,  there  is 
wonderful  variety  in  the  climate  as  we  pass  from  one  place 
to  another.  Indeed,  there  are  almost  as  many  climates  as 
there  are  square  leagues.  As  a  rule  the  windward  or  east- 
ern sides  are  very  rainy  and  the  leeward  sides  very  dry.  On 
the  eastern  coast  of  Hawaii  the  annual  rainfall  varies  from 


150  to  250  inches.  On  the  northwest  coast  of  the  same 
island  it  is  probably  less  than  the  twentieth  part  of  those 
amounts.  The  islands  being  situated  within  the  trade-wind 
belt,  the  wind  blows  constantly  from  the  east  and  northeast 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  is  only  subject  to 
brief  interruptions  during  midwinter.  Violent  storms  occur 
only  in  the  winter  time,  and  these,  coming  once  or  twice  a 
year  from  the  southwest,  are  known  as  konas,  which  means 
in  the  native  language  the  southwest.  During  a  stay  of 
six  months  on  the  islands  I  only  heard  a  single  peal  of 
thunder. 

These  islands  are  all  of  volcanic  origin.  They  are  com- 
posed of  basaltic  lavas,  and  no  other  rocks  are  found  there 
excepting  a  few  consolidated  coral  sands,  which  are  rem- 
nants of  old  sea-beaches  upheaved  from  50  to  200  feet.  In 
the  two  westerly  islands  the  volcanic  activity  has  long  been 
extinct.  Most  of  the  ancient  craters  have  been  obliterated, 
and  the  volcanic  piles  built  up  during  the  periods  of  activ- 
ity have  been  greatly  ravaged  tmd  wasted  by  subsequent 
erosion.  Next  to  the  plateaus  and  canon  country  of  the 
Kocky  Mountain  region,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any- 
where more  impressive  and  suggestive  example*  of  the 
wasting  and  slow  destruction  of  the  laud  than  those  pre- 
sented by  these  islands.  We  find  there  grand  illustrations 
of  the  two  methods  by  which  the  general  process  of  erosion 
accomplishes  its  work.  First,  is  the  action  of  the  rains,  fol- 
lowed by  the  decomposition  of  the  massive  rocks  and  their 
conversion  into  soil,  and  also  the  action  of  running  water 
and  general  decay  of  the  rock  masses,  resulting  in  the  for- 
mation of  ravines  and  mountain  gorges  of  the  most  impos- 


ing  grandeur;  secondly,  we  find  the  slow  but  incessant  in- 
roads made  by  the  waves  of  the  ocean  upon  a  sea-coast, 
gradually  wearing  back  the  cliffs  and  slowly  paring  away 
the  rocky  shore,  until,  after  the  lapse  of  thousands  of  years, 
the  sea  has  eaten  its  way  several  miles  into  the  land.  Thus 
we  have  on  the  one  hand  very  striking  examples  of  one  way 
in  which  mountains  are  built,  and  we  have  on  the  other  hand 
equally  striking  examples  of  the  ways  in  which  those  moun- 
tains are  destroyed. 

Travelers  in  the  lofty  volcanic  islands  of  the  Pacific  have 
frequently  noted  with  some  surprise  the  singularly  sharp, 
angular,  abrupt  features  of  their  mountain  scenery.  It  is 
very  impressive  in  the  Fijis  and  Samoa,  in  the  Ladroneand 
Caroline,  and  Society  groups.  But  none  of  them  rival  in 
wildness  and  grandeur  the  still  loftier  islands  of  Hawaii. 
Gorges  little  inferior  to  Yosemite  in  magnitude  are  rather 
numerous.  But  in  a  certain  sharpness  of  detail  and  ani- 
mation in  the  sculpture  they  are  quite  unique.  The  island 
of  Kauai  and  the  western  portion  of  the  island  of  Maui 
consist  of  old  volcanic  piles  as  high  as  Mt.  Washington, 
and  much  broader  and  longer.  They  are  literally  sawed  to 
pieces  by  many  immense  canon-like  gorges,  which  cut 
them  to  their  foundations.  Over  all  is  spread  a  mantle  of 
tropical  vegetation,  in  comparison  with  which  the  richest 
verdure  of  our  temperate  zone  is  but  the  garb  of  poverty. 
Whoever  reads  Shakespeare's  Tempest  and  visits  the  Ber- 
mudas will  be  disenchanted  from  some  of  the  most  pleasing 
illusions  of  the  play.  But,  if  Shakespeare  could  only  have 
known  the  eastern  shores  of  Maui  or  Hawaii  and  made 
them  the  scenes  of  his  play,  it  .would  have  had,  if  possible, 
another  claim  to  immortality. 


7 

This  wealth  of  verdure  and  splendor  of  scenery  usually 
occur  upon  the  windward  sides  of  the  islands,  for  upon 
those  sides  are  found  the  cause  which  produces  them.     This 
cause  is  the  copious  rainfall  brought  by  the  perpetual  trade 
winds.  Nothing  can  be  more  pleasing  to  the  lover  of  beautiful 
scenery  than  a  ride  along  the  windward  coasts  of  Maui  and 
Hawaii.     The  land  terminates  in  cliffs,  varying  from  200 
to  500  feet  in  height,  plunging  down  almost  vertically  into 
the  Pacific.     The  long  heavy  swell  driven  for  thousands  of 
miles  before  the  trade-wind  breaks  with  great  force  against 
these  iron  walls.    The  surface  above  slopes  upwards  towards 
the  mountainous  interior,  at  first  with  a  gentle  acclivity 
which  becomes  steeper  inland,  and  at  length  precipitous. 
This  platform  is  gashed  at  short  intervals  by  true  canons, 
which  head  far  up  the  mountain  slopes,  and  open  seawards 
in  the  great  terminal  wall.     A  mile  or  two  inland  from  the 
brink  of  the  cliff-bound  shore  is  a  forest  so  dense  that  it  can  be 
penetrated  only  by  hewing  a  way  through  it  or  following  a 
path  already  hewn.     To  describe  the  glories  of  this  tropical 
vegetation  is  impossible.     Only  those  who  have  beheld  it 
can  conceive  of  its  splendor  and  luxuriance.     Yet  there  is 
one  unrivaled  feature  of  the  island  vegetation,  which  has 
no  parallel  elsewhere  than  in  the  Pacific  and  Austral  islands, 
and  which  may  be  mentioned.     This  is  the  ferns.     There 
are  more  than  300  species  of  them  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
and  the  most  conspicuous  are  tree-ferns,  which   grow  in 
amazing  abundance  and  sumptuousness.     They  often  cover 
the  sides  of  the  ravines,  forming  a  thicket  which  is  quite 
impenetrable,  and  become  a  mantle  of  green  velvet,  so  deep, 
rich,  and  exquisitely  patterried  that  it  makes  an  imperial 
robe  seem  ridiculous. 


Hut  there  arc  contrasts.  There  are  portions  of  the  islands 
where  the  features  have  at  first  sight  no  more  in  common 
with  those  just  spoken  of,  than  if  they  belonged  to  another 
planet.  The  beautiful  or  grand  scenery  is  found  in  those 
parts  where  the  volcanic  activity  has  long  been  dormant. 
The  contrasted  portions  are  those  where  the  volcanoes  are 
still  in  action,  or  have  recently  put  out  their  fires. 

The  southern  half  of  the  great  island  Hawaii  is  covered 
by  the  two  grandest  volcanoes  in  the  world — Mauna  Loa 
and  Kilauea.  The  great  central  pile  is  Mauna  Loa,  which  is 
certainly  the  monarch  of  modern  volcanoes.  Its  name 
signifies  the  Great  Mountain.  No  other  in  the  world  ap- 
proaches it  in  the  vastuess  of  its  mass  or  in  the  magnitude 
of  its  eruptive  activity.  There  are  many  volcanic  peaks 
higher  in  air,  but  these  are  planted  upon  elevated  platforms  of 
stratified  rock,  where  they  appear  as  mere  cones,  of  greater 
or  less  si/e.  Regarding  the  platforms  on  which  they  stand 
as  their  true  bases,  the  cones  themselves,  and  the  lavas 
which  have  emanated  from  them,  never  approach  the  mag- 
nitude of  Mauna  Loa.  JEtna  and  all  it*  adjuncts  are  im- 
measurably inferior ;  while  Shasta,  Hood,  and  Ranier,  if 
melted  down  and  run  together  into  one  pile,  would  still  fall 
much  below  the  volume  of  the  island  volcano.  In  the 
greatness  of  its  eruptions,  Mauna  Loa  is  also  without  a 
rival.  Some  of  the  volcanoes  of  Iceland  have  been  known 
to  disgorge  at  a  single  outbreak  volumes  of  lava  quite 
equal  to  them.  But  in  that  island  such  extravasations  are 
infrequent,  and  a  century  has  now  elapsed  since  any  such 
have  been  emitted.  The  eruptions  of  Mauna  Loa  are  all 
of  great  volume,  and  occur  irregularly,  with  an  average  in- 


terval  of  about  eight  years.  Any  one  of  its  moderate  erup- 
tions represents  more  lava  than  Vesuvius  has  outpoured 
since  the  last  days  of  Pompeii.  The  great  flow  of  1855 
would  nearly  have  built  Vesuvius,  and  those  of  1859  and 
1881  were  not  greatly  inferior. 

The  Hawaiian  volcanoes  are  in  some  respects  abnormal. 
The  most  distinctive  of  their  characteristics  is  the  singu- 
larly quiet  and  undemonstrative  methods  of  their  erup- 
tions. Rarely  ai-e  these  portentous  events  attended  by  any 
of  that  explosive  action  which  is  manifested  by  all  other 
volcanoes.  In  only  one  or  two  instances  within  the  historic 
period  have  they  been  accompanied  by  earthquakes  and  sub- 
terraneous rumblings.  The  vast  jets  of  steam  blown  mile? 
high,  hurling  cinders  and  lapilli  far  and  wide,  and  filling, 
the  heavens  with  vapor,  dust,  and  ashes,  have  never  been 
observed  here.  Home  action  of  the  sort  is  indeed  repre- 
sented sometimes,  but  only  in  a  feeble  way.  Ordinarily  the 
lava  spouts  forth  in  stupendous  quantities,  but  as  quietly  as 
water  from  a  fountain.  So  mild  are  the  eruptive  forces 
that  the  observer  may  stand  to  the  windward  of  one  of 
these  mighty  fountains,  and  so  near  it  that  the  heat  will  make 
the  face  tingle,  yet  without  danger.  Usually  the  outbreak 
takes  place  without  warning,  and  even  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  people  in  the  vicinity,  who  first  become  aware  of  it 
at  nightfall,  when  the  whole  heavens  are  aglow  with  the 
reflected  light,  and  the  fiery  fountains  are  seen  playing.  As 
the  news  spreads,  hundreds  of  people  flock  to  it  to  witness 
the  sublime  spectacle,  and  display  as  much  eagerness  to  ap- 
proach the  scene  of  an  eruption  as  the  people  of  other  coun- 
tries show  to  get  away  from  one. 


10 

All  this  is  in  strongest  contrast  with  the  ordinary  volcano. 
At  the  other  extreme  is  such  an  eruption  as  that  which 
happened  last  August  at  Krakatoa,  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda. 
With  the  published  details  of  this  catastrophe  you  are  all 
familiar.  Appalling  as  it  was,  the  eruption  of  Sumlnnvu, 
on  the  Island  of  Rumatra,  in  1815,  must  have  been — if  we 
can  rely  upon  the  accounts  of  it — even  more  energetic  and 
destructive.  The  eruption  of  Coseguina,  in  Nicaragua,  in 
1835,  appears  to  have  been  of  the  same  character,  or  upon 
a  scale  quite  equal;  while  once  or  twice  in  a  century 
Cotapaxi  shakes  the  chain  of  the  Andes  through  half 
its  length,  fills  the  sky  with  dust,  and  converts  noonday 
into  midnight  for  a  hundred  miles  around.  The  eruptions 
of  ^Etna  have  all  been  on  a  smaller  scale,  but  still  sufficient 
to  fill  all  Sicily  with  terror.  Vesuvius  is  usually  regarded 
as  a  very  obstreperous  vent,  but  its  performances  are  mere 
Fourth  of  July  fire-works  in  comparison  with  these  Day-of- 
Judgment  proceedings  at  Humbawa,  Krakatoa,  and  Cota- 
paxi. 

The  explosive  agent  in  these  terrible  convulsions  is  steam. 
In  their  original  seat,  miles  deep  in  the  earth,  the  lavas  contain 
considerable  quantities  of  water ;  but  the  condition  of  this 

9 

water  is  such  as  we  have,  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  no  expe- 
rience Avith,  except  as  we  observe  it  in  volcanoes.  It  is  water 
red  hot,  or  even  yelloAv  hot,  and  under  a  pressure  hundreds  of 
times  greater  than  that  of  the  steam  in  a  locomotive  boiler — 
a  pressure  probably  comparable  to  that  exerted  by  gun- 
powder in  a  poAverful  cannon.  Under  the  enormous  pres- 
sure, occurring  at  a  depth  of  several  miles  within  the  earth, 
Avater  is  absorbed  bv  the  lavas  in  much  the  same  way  as 


II 

water  itself  absorbs  ammonia  gas,  or  as  wine  absorbs  car- 
bonic acid.  When  the  lavas  rise  to  the  surface  where  the 
pressure  is  removed  their  explosive  energy  becomes  terri- 
ble. The  steam  is  given  off  as  the  uncorked  bottle  of  wine, 
gives  off  its  gas,  only  a  thousand  times  more  violently  and 
energetically.  So  densely  charged  with  vapor  of  water  are 
some  lavas  that  when,  as  in  the  case  of  Krakatoa,  a  vent  is 
found,  the  explosive  energy  becomes  so  prodigious  that  the 
lava  is  blown  into  fine  dust  and  dissipated  in  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere.  Although  this  extreme  of  explosive  activ- 
ity is  far  too  common  for  the  comfort  and  safety  of  the 
human  race,  it  is  by  no  means  the  most  frequent.  The 
more  ordinary  type  of  volcano  is  one  in  which  the  explo- 
siveness  is  not  so  intense  as  to  blow  the  whole  of  the  ejected 
matter  into  impalpable  dust,  but  blows  it  into  pellets  termed 
lapilli.  These  grains  of  lapilli  are  of  all  sizes,  from  that  of 
a  kernel  of  wheat  up  to  those  of  cannon  balls,  and  some- 
times weighing  a  hundred  tons  or  more.  With  a  majority 
of  volcanoes,  whether  active  or  extinct,  the  greater  part  of 
the  material  ejected  is  cast  into  the  air  in  this  fragmeiital 
form.  Falling  back  around  the  orifice,  they  build  up  a 
fairly  regular  cone,  with  a  cup  on  the  summit.  This  is 
termed  a  cinder  cone.  Most  of  the  volcanic  piles  of  the 
world  are  crowned  with  cinder  cones,  the  principal  bulk  of 
which  consists  of  lapilli  and  scoriaceous  lumps,  with  some 
massive  portions  of  flowing  lava  streams  mixed  in.  It  is 
probable  that  quite  half  of  the  volcanic  material  now  visi- 
ble upon  the  globe  consists  of  accumulations  of  such  frag- 
mental  matter. 

To  this  general  method  of  extravasation  Mauua  Loa  and 


12 

Kilaut'Ji  are  very  remarkable  exceptions.  They  consist 
almost  wholly  of  massive  sheets  and  Hoods  of  lava.  On 
Mauna  Loa  there  are  but  the  most  insignificant  traces  of 
fragmental  products,  and  on  Kilauea  there  are  only  a 
do/.eu  or  two  of  small  cinder  cones.  The  lavas  of  these  great 
volcanoes  flowed  quietly  out  in  enormous  deluges,  running 
sometimes  for  mouths,  or  even  a  whole  year,  with  only  the 
least  possible  signs  of  explosive  action  throughout  the  entire 
duration  of  the  flows. 

One  consequence  of  this  quiet  method  of  eruption  has 
been  to  give  to  these  colossal  piles  a  wholly  exceptional 
form  among  volcanoes.  Instead  of  a  huge  cone  crowning 
the  apex  of  Mauna  Loa,  its  summit  is  nearly  a  flat  plain, 
five  and  a  half  miles  long  and  nearly  four  miles  wide. 
Within  this  plain  is  sunken  a  pit  three  miles  long,  two  miles 
wide,  and  a  thousand  feet  in  depth.  In  the  floor  of  this  pit, 
at  certain  times,  may  be  seen  a  lake  of  red  hot  liquid  lava, 
varying  in  size  from  time  to  time,  but  occasionally  as  large 
as  thirty  or  forty  acres.  At  intervals  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  a  column  of  liquid  lava  of  great  brilliancy,  as  large 
and  as  high  as  the  Washington  monument  will  be  when  it 
is  completed,  is  shot  upwards  and  falls  back  into  the  lava 
pool  in  a  fiery  spray.  This  grand  display  is  sometimes  kept 
up  for  months,  and  is  generally  terminated  by  an  eruption. 
When  an  outbreak  occurs  it  does  not  take  place  usually  at 
the  summit,  but  a  fissure  suddenly  opens  in  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  out  of  which  a  sheet  of  lava  spouts  hundreds  of 
feet  into  the  air,  and,  falling,  collects  into  a  mighty  river  of 
fire  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  rushes  at  first  with  great  ve- 
locity down  the  slope.  After  running  some  miles  it  reaches 


more  level  ground,  where  it  spreads  out  in  great  lakes  or 
fields.  It  also  cools  on  the  surface,  which  gradually  freezes 
over.  But  it  is  still  hot  within,  and  beneath  its  hardened 
covering  the  liquid  rivers  are  still  running,  and  at  the 
edges  and  along  the  front  of  the  great  sheet  the  limpid  lava 
constantly  breaks  forth,  pushing  out  fiery  rivulets  in  ad- 
vance, and  latei'ally.  These  rivulets  are  shot  out,  in  quick 
succession,  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  gradually  covering 
the  ground  by  repeated  offshoots.  It  soous  blackens  and 
hardens,  but  only  to  be  covered  by  another  and  another 
belch.  The  later  progress  of  the  stream  is  slow.  When 
the  lava  first  leaves  the  vent  it  may  run  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
an  hour.  But  later  on  the  stream  may  advance  less  than  a 
hundred  yards  in  a  day.  In  November,  1880,  a  great  erup- 
tion broke  forth  near  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  and  the 
lava  poured  out  in  heavy  streams  unceasingly  for  eleven 
months.  There  were  three  great  .streams  flowing  in  as  many 
directions,  and  the  larger  one  extended  from  the  vent  a 
distance  of  nearly  fifty  miles.  It  reached  the  outskirts  of 
the  beautiful  little  town  of  Hilo,  whose  inhabitants  had 
abandoned  all  hope  that  their  village  would  escape,  and 
had  removed  their  portabl^  property.  But  the  flow  stopped 
just  at  the  edge  of  the  village. 

The  massive  and  highly  liquid  character  of  the  flows 
from  Mauna  Loa  are  the  causes  which  have  given  this 
mountain  its  peculiar  form.  It  is  in  contrast  with  all  other 
volcanoes  by  virtue  of  its  flat  and  gently-sloped  profiles. 
It  is  a  gently  rising  dome,  whose  slopes  are  only  about 
seven  degrees,  while  its  longer  onas  are  only  four  degrees. 
Most  volcanoes  have  slopes  ranging  all  the  way  from  fifteen 


14 

degrees  to  thirty  and  even  forty  degrees.  The  liquid  lavas 
run  off'  from  the  summit  and  upper  dome,  and  distribute 
themselves  at  immense  distances.  But  if  fragmental  prod- 
ucts were  ejected  in  any  quantity  they  would  pile  up 
around  the  orifices  from  which  they  were  ejected,  and  thus 
form  steep  conical  hills. 

The  ascent  of  Mauna  Loa  is  a  feat  wholly  unworthy  of 
the  name  of  mountaineering.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to 
procure  a  guide  who  knows  the  way,  otherwise  the  journey 
is  pretty  sure  to  prove  more  interesting  than  was  expected. 
Many  of  the  lava  streams  are  masses  of  huge  clinkers  of  the 
most  angular  and  cruel  aspect  imaginable ;  indeed,  the  hum- 
mocks of  an  arctic  ice  field  are  good  traveling  in  compari- 
son ;  and  only  a  guide  familiar  with  the  mountain  knows 
how  to  avoid  them. 

Just  east  of  Mauna  Loa,  about  twenty  or  twenty-five 
miles,  is  the  far-famed  volcano  Kilauea.  This  has  been 
visited  and  described  so  often  that  little  needs  to  be  said 
here.  It  contains  a  great  pit  similar  to  that  on  Mauna  Loa, 
and  somewhat  larger,  though  not  so  deep. 

Within  it  are  the  great  lakes  of  fire  always  burning. 
The  lake  at  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa  is  frozen  over  and 
silent,  without  a  trace  of  volcanic  activity,  for  several  years 
at  a  time,  and  is  open  only  for  several  months  or  sometimes 
a  year  or  so  before  a  great  eruption.  But  at  Kilauea  the 
lava  lakes  are  always  aflame  and  have  been  so  ever  since 
the  earliest  traditions  of  the  natives.  Forty  years  ago  there 
was  a  pit  within  a  pit,  and  in  the  lowest  deep  was  a  lava 
pool  half  a  mile  or  more  in  diameter  always  boiling,  spout- 
ing, and  flaming.  At  the  present  time  the  inner  pit  is 


15 

quite  filled  up  with  solid  lava,  and  a  large  conical  pile  of 
rocks  is  built  up  over  the  site  of  this  former  lake.  Within 
this  pile  of  rocks,  however,  is  the  remnant  of  this  lake,  now 
about  ten  acres  in  area.  Half  a  mile  distant  is  a  second  lake 
which  is  easily  visited,  and  it  is  an  exhilarating  sight  to 
stand  at  night  upon  the  brink  of  it  and  Avatch  the  boiling, 
surging,  and  swirling  of  six  acres  of  melted  lava.  At  brief 
intervals  the  surface  darkens  over  by  the  formation  of  a 
black  solid  crust  with  streaks  of  fire  around  the  edges. 
Suddenly  a  network  of  cracks  shoots  through  the  entire 
crust,  and  the  fragments  turn  down  edgewise  and  sink,  leav- 
ing the  pool  one  glowing  expanse  of  exactly  the  appearance 
of  so  much  melted  cast-iron.  The  heat  and  fusion  of  this 
lake  is  maintained  in  spite  of  the  enormous  loss  of  heat  by 
radiation  by  the  constant  ascent  of  large  quantities  of  in- 
tensely hot  vapors  from  the  depths  of  the  earth. 

An  hour's  lecture,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  leaves  no  time 
for  rhetoric  and  graceful  transitions  from  one  theme  to  an- 
other. Having  shoveled  out  to  you,  so  to  speak,  some 
incoherent  remarks  concerning  points  of  special  interest  in 
the  islands,  I  proceed  at  once  to  a  subject,  which  will,  1 
hope,  prove  more  interesting,  and  that  is  the  people  who 
inhabit  them. 

When  we  were  boys  and  girls  our  general  idea  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  Islands  was  that  they  were  typical 
savages.  What  savages  were  we  knew  pretty  well,  or  thought 
we  knew ;  for,  had  we  not  all  read  Robinson  Crusoe  ?  We 
thought  of  them  as  naked,  black  creatures,  whose  principal 
occupation  was  blowing  conch  shells,  brandishing  thigh 
bones,  and  dancing  a  horrible  cancan  around  a  fire  where  a 


i6 

human  carcass  was  roasting.  But  we  were  mistaken.  The 
Polynesians,  as  a  rule,  were  not  savages,  though  many  of 
the  white  people  who  first  visited  them  were  so. 

In  the  Pacific  Islands  two  very  distinct  races  are  found. 
Of  one  race  the  Hawaiiausor  Tahitians  may  be  regarded  as 
the  type.  This  race  peoples  also  the  Society,  Samoan,  Navi- 
gators, and  Friendly  groups,  and  includes  the  Maoris  of  New 
Zealand.  All  these  islanders  have  the  same  physical  features, 
similar  social  cults,  and  speak  dialects  of  the  same  language. 
The  difference  between  the  language  of  a  Hawaiian  and  of 
a  Society  islander  is  not  greater  than  that  between  the 
German  and  the  Dutch.  The  difference  between  the  lan- 
guage of  a  Hawaiian  and  a  Maori  is  less  than  between  the 
Dutch  and  the  English.  This  and  the  community  <>f 
physical  type  establishes  the  identity  of  race  sufficiently. 
The  western  islands  of  the  Pacific  are  occupied  by  a  race 
which  has  such  apparent  affinity  with  the  negritos  of  Papua 
or  New  Guinea  as  to  raise  a  very  strong  presumption  of 
their  community,  and  the  supposition  is  corroborated  by 
many  other  circumstances.  Of  the  two  races,  the  first 
mentionedis  much  superior  physically,  mentally,  and  mor- 
ally, and  of  all  branches  of  that  race  the  noblest  is  the 
Hawaiian. 

Physically  they  are  rather  large,  and  have  a  light  brown 
color,  straight  hair,  and  are  handsomely  formed,  of  good 
bearing,  and  well  featured.  The  women  also  are  pleasing 
and  comely.  There  is  nothing  about  them  savoring  of  the 
squaw,  hag,  or  wench,  which  is  almost  universal  among  so 
many  of  the  primitive  dark-skinned  races,  and  they  are  not 
without  beauty,  even  according  to  the  taste  of  the  white 


17 

man,  if  he  is  willing  to  admire  a  robust  type  of  feminine 
grace  as  easily  as  he  does  the  "pale,  pious,  pulmonary" 
persuasion.  Among  the  Hawaiians  the  old  kings  and  chiefs 
seemed  to  form  a  distinct  caste  and  a  breed  greatly  superior 
to  the  common  herd.  They  were  very  large,  and  some- 
times almost  gigantic  in  size,  and  of  very  impressive  form 
and  bearing.  Their  color  was  lighter,  and  they  were  of 
more  massive  frames. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  these  islands  by  Capt. 
Cook,  in  1776,  these  people  were  by  no  means  savages. 
Their  social  system  was  as  much  above  savagery  on  the  one 
hand  as  it  was  below  civilization  on  the  other.  A  careful 
study  of  their  habits  and  customs  discloses  the  very  inter- 
esting fact  that  their  social  organization  bore  a  striking 
similitude  to  that  of  Europe  in  the  10th  and  llth  centuries. 
It  was  a  feudal  system  almost  exactly.  They  had  kings 
who  were  in  all  strictness  hereditary  suzerains.  Under 
them  were  chiefs  who  owed  them  fealty,  and  who  held  lands 
and  titles  by  a  tenure  which  can  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  enfeoffment,  and  which,  at  all  events,  was  a  truly 
feudal  tenure ;  for  it  carried  with  it  the  recognition  of  the 
principle  that  the  allodium  was  vested  in  the  king  alone, 
and  the  tenure  was  gi-anted  to  the  chief  as  a  vassal  in  con- 
sideration of  military  service.  The  common  people  were 
mere  villeins,  bound  to  the  soil,  though  in  some  sort  as  ten- 
ants at  will.  The  islands  were  divided  up  into  several  king- 
doms, over  each  of  which  a  king  reigned,  whose  power  was 
very  absolute  ;  in  all  things  he  was  lord  paramount.  The 
kingdom  was  subdivided  into  tracts,  for  which  the  term  now 
used  in  the  islands  is  simply  the  word  "  lands."  These 
3 


i8 

lauds  were  lorded  over  by  chiefs,  of  whom  there  were  sev- 
eral grades.  They  were  subdivided  again  and  again  down 
to  the  smallest  holdings,  of  a  fraction  of  an  acre,  tenanted 
by  the  lower  classes,  and  all  were  marked  oft'  by  metes  and 
bounds. 

The  power  of  the  king  was  absolute,  and  limited  only  by 
the  endurance  of  his  subjects.  Life  and  death,  as  well  as 
property,  were  subject  to  his  will ;  and  yet  there  was  a 
division  of  power.  To  make  the  parallel  with  mediaeval 
Europe  more  complete  the  power  of  the  king  was  rivaled, 
and  in  some  cases  even  overborne,  by  the  power  of  a  priest- 
hood ;  and  the  priests  enforced  their  sway  with  a  spiritual 
weapon  of  resistless  potency.  The  weapons  of  Rome  were 
many,  chief  among  which  were  excommunication,  the  inqui- 
sition, and  the  interdict.  The  Hawaiian  priest  had  a 
weapon  more  powerful  than  them  all.  It  was  the  tabu. 
This  word  has  been  adopted,  metaphorically,  into  the  Eng- 
lish and  many  other  languages.  But  few  people  compre- 
hend its  significance  in  the  places  where  it  originated.  The 
word  means  prohibited  or  forbidden,  and  a  great  deal  more 
besides.  Almost  anything  might  be  tabu.  The  penalty 
of  violating  a  tabu  was  always  death.  The  institution  de- 
rived its  power  from  the  fact  that  there  Avas  not  a  native  in 
all  Polynesia  who  did  not  devoutly  believe  that  even  if  the 
king  or  priests  did  not  cause  him  to  be  killed  for  violating 
a  tabu  the  gods  certainly  would. 

In  respect  to  the  arts  possessed  by  these  people  they  were 
few  and  simple.  The  islands  contained  no  metals  and  very 
few  substitutes  for  it,  except  stoiie,  and  not  the  best  kinds 
of  stone  for  implements  at  that.  Considering  the  want  of 


19 

materials,  however,  their  arts  were  hardly  to  be  despised. 
They  made  many  articles  of  wood  with  surprising  neatness. 
Their  only  substitutes  for  cloth  were  a  fabric  made  of  a 
peculiar  bark,  macerated  in  water  and  pounded  out  as 
thin  as  paper,  and  mats  woven  from  the  fibres  of  the  pan- 
dan  us  with  no  little  skill.  Their  houses  were  large,  com- 
modious structures  made  of  grass,  often  neatly  woven,  and 
attached  to  a  frame  work  of  poles.  They  were  scrupulously 
neat  within,  and  matting  of  pleasing  aspect  was  used  abun- 
dantly. They  were  wonderfully  expert  fishermen,  and  had 
devices  suited  for  capturing  each  kind  of  fish.  More  than 
that,  they  had  fish-ponds  and  preserves  for  rearing  select 
varieties. 

Agriculture  was  practiced  systematically.  They  con- 
structed canals  for  irrigating,  the  remains  of  which  are  still 
visible  in  numerous  places.  Their  chief  vegetable  was  the 
root  of  the  taro  plant,  a  species  of  arum  to  which  the  calla 
lilies  belong.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  this  is 
probably  the  most  prolific  food  plant  in  the  world.  Hum- 
boldt  gives  that  distinction  to  the  banana,  but  the  banana  is 
nowhere  in  the  comparison  ;  for  a  square  yard  and  a  half 
planted  with  taro  will  yield  food  enough  to  support  a  man 
for  a  year.  This  plant  is  poisonous  when  raw,  but  cooking 
completely  destroys  the  poisonous  quality  and  renders  it 
very  wholesome.  The  Hawaiians  first  bake  it  and  then 
pound  it,  gradually  adding  water,  which  is  kneaded  in  like 
oil  in  a  mayonaise,  and  when  fully  prepared  it  is  of  a  con- 
sistency very  much  like  mayonaise.  In  that  state  it  is 
termed  poi;  and  to  this  day  the  natives  regard  it  as  we  do 


20 

bread,  and  it  serves  still  as  their  favorite  food.  Many  of 
the  white  residents  also  have  become  exceedingly  fond  of  it. 
The  primitive  Hawaiian*  were  very  bold  and  skillful 
navigators.  There  can  be  no  question  that  they  frequently 
visited  in  their  little  canoes  the  Society  Islands  and  Tahiti, 
south  of  the  equator,  and  2,400  miles  distant  from  Hawaii. 
How  they  could  cross  such  vast  wastes  of  ocean  seems  at 
first  mysterious;  but  they  had  a  knowledge  of  astronomy 
such  as  we  sometimes  marvel  at  in  the  old  Egyptians  and 
Chaldeans.  They  knew  the  planets  and  had  names  for  tHe 
brighter  stars.  They  also  had  a  good  calendar.  Their 
year  was  365  days  long,  and  began  when  the  Pleiades  rose 
at  sunset.  They  had  twelve  months,  of  which  eleven  had 
thirty  days  each,  and  the  twelth  thirty-five  days.  They  had 
also  a  prmitive  arithmetic  and  a  system  of  numerals  in 
which  they  could  number  up  into  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. It  was  partly  decimal  and  partly  tesseral. 

The  religion  of  this  people  was  in  some  respects  analogous 
to  that  of  the  Greeks.  Their  gods  were  hero  gods,  and  of 
many  grades.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  literal  to  say  that  the 
woods  were  full  of  them.  Every  locality,  every  conspicu- 
ous rock  or  tree,  had  its  tutelar,  corresponding  perhaps  to 
the  Grecian  fauns  and  dryads.  They  also  had  animal  gods, 
most  notably  the  shark  god,  and  the  divinity  of  the  volcano 
of  Kilauea  was  a  female  named  Pele.  The  amount  of  myth 
and  legendary  lore  in  which  these  divinities  figured  was 
something  amazing.  We  have  for  some  years  been  finding 
out  that  our  own  Indians  were  rich  in  myths,  if  nothing 
else.  But  the  extent  of  such  lore  among  the  Hawaiians 


21 


quite  siirpasse*  anything  known  of  other  primitive  peoples. 
Many  of  them  are  highly  poetical  and  ingenious. 

The  origin  of  the  Polynesian  race  has  always  been  a  mys- 
tery.    There  is  very  little  light  thrown  upon  it  as  yet  by 
ethnological  research.     The  view  most  favored  is  that  they 
came  from  the  East  Indies  at  a  remote  period.     That  the 
larger  islands  of  the  Pacific  have  been  inhabited  for  many 
centuries  is  an  inference  which  finds  considerable  support. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  ascertain  whether  the  language 
has  any  affinity  to  known  languages  of  southeastern  Asia, 
but  the  results  are  little  better  than  negative.     Some  coinci- 
dences have  been  found,  or  supposed  to  have  been  found, 
but  it  does  not  seem  that  they  are  any  better  or  more  sig- 
nificant than  such  as  may  be  frequently  discovered  between 
two  languages  which  are  surely  known  to  have  absolutely 
nothing  in  common.     Coincidences  between   legends  and 
customs  have  also  been   discovered.     But  ethnologists  of 
the  present  day  have  come  to  attach  less  importance  to 
them,  if  possible,  than  to  languages.     Thus  the  manners 
and  customs,  and  also  the  legends,  of  the  Maoris  of  New  Zea- 
land have  very  little  in  common  with  those  of  the  Hawaiians. 
Yet  the  absolute  identity  of  physical  type  and  the  virtual 
identity  of  their  languages  is  tantamount  to  proof  of  a  com- 
mon race.     And  primitive  peoples,  world  over,  are  con- 
stantly  surprising    us    by   furnishing   correspondences   in 
legends  and  peculiar  customs,  when  it  is  absolutely  certain 
that  they  are  widely  distinct.     On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
good  ground  for  believing  that  if  the  Polynesians  did  not 
come  from  some  known  Asiatic  or  East  Indian  stock,  thev 
may  at  least  have  communicated  with  them  in  one  way  or 


22 


another.  When  the  islands  were  discovered  by  Captain 
Cook  pig*  were  very  "abundant  there,  and  the  animal  was 
for  all  the  world  an  East  Indian  variety.  The  peculiar 
tusks,  the  portentously  long  snout  like  an  icthyosaurus,  and 
ears  set  in  the  middle  of  its  body,  give  us  pretty  reliable 
testimony  as  to  its  origin.  They  also  had  dogs,  and  cer- 
tainly 110  dog  could  have  come  either  from  America  or 
Australia.  Finally,  and  even  more  conclusively,  they  had 
common  hens  and  chickens,  which  are  certainly  of  Asiatic 
origin.  What  people  brought  these  animals  to  the  islands 
is  a  question.  I  have  already  mentioned  to  you  that  the 
Hawaiian*;  often  made  voyages  to  Tahiti  in  their  little 
canoes,  a  distance  of  2,400  miles ;  and  their  ancient  poems 
and  legends  are  full  of  vague  accounts  of  voyages  to  even 
greater  distances.  They  knew  of  the  Samoau  and  Tonga 
islands,  which  are  more  than  3,000  miles  away  and  further 
westward.  Possibly  also  they  knew  of  New  Zealand,  but 
the  evidence  of  that  is  not  so  clear.  But  I  have  never 
learned  that  anything  in  their  poetry  or  traditions  indicated 
a  knowledge  of  either  America  or  Asia.  While  therefore 
it  is  not  impossible  that  they  may  have  had  communication 
with  Asia,  there  is  no  other  evidence  of  it  than  the  fact 
that  domestic  animals  of  Asiatic  origin  were  found  among 
them. 

The  transition  of  this  people  from  barbarism  to  civiliza- 
tion has  been  wonderfully  rapid  and  complete.  It  is  a  very 
remarkable  fact,  too,  that  it  is  the  only  dark-skinned  race 
that  has  ever  been  brought  into  full  contact  and  relation 
with  civilization,  without  war  and  generations  of  bloodshed, 
ending  in  subjugation.  The  reasons  are  many.  Prominent 


23 

among  them  are  the  following :  In  the  first  place  there  can 
be  little  question  that  it  is  the  finest  and  most  intelligent 
race  of  dark-skinned  people  in  the  world.  In  the  second 
place  it  is  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  wisdom,  tact,  and 
good  sense  of  the  missionaries,  through  whom  this  civiliza- 
tion was  imparted.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  third  reason 
is  still  more  potent,  and  this  was  the  great  ability,  wisdom, 
and  good  sense  of  the  kings  of  the  line  of  the  Kameha- 
mehas  and  the  absolute  power  they  originally  held  over 
their  people. 

Fortunately  also,  at  the  time  of  the  advent  of  white  men, 
the  control  of  the  islands  had  already  been  consolidated 
into  the  hands  of  one  man,  who  was  fully  capable  of  wielding 
it.  If  the  lot  of  the  first  Kamehameha  had  been  cast  in 
Europe  instead  of  the  remotest  islands  of  the  sea,  he  would 
have  figured  as  one  of  the  conspicuous  figures  of  history. 
Originally  a  little  kinglet  of  a  district  at  the  north  end  of 
Hawaii,  he  gradually  conquered  the  whole  of  that  island, 
and  finally  the  whole  group.  No  king  in  history  ever  knew 
better  how  to  rule  his  people.  Brought  into  contact  with 
civilization  he  grasped  its  meaning  with  a  breadth  of  com- 
prehension, which  is  perhaps  without  example  among 
barbarians.  He  knew7  instinctively  how  resistless  was  its 
power,  and  how  inexorably  it  croAvds  the  weaker  races  to 
the  wall.  But  he  had  the  wisdom,  not  only  to  avert  the 
destruction  of  his  own  power  and  the  obliteration  of  the 
nationality  of  his  people,  but  actually  to  draw  strength  from 
it,  and  make  it  his  servant  instead  of  his  master.  The 
greatest  achievement  of  his  life  was  the  work  of  his  declining 
years,  and  it  was  an  achievement  of  surpassing  skill.  He 


24 

broke  completely  the  secular  power  of  the  priesthood.  He 
lind  the  BAgaoity  to  discover  alone  :in<l  unaided  the  grandest 
truth  in  political  science,  and  one  which  white  men  never 
discovered  until  three  or  four  centuries  ago.  That  great 
truth  was  that  Church  and  State  had  better  let  each  other 
alone.  We  need  not  wonder,  however,  that  he  discovered 
it,  for  the  kings  of  Europe  understood  it  well  enough ;  indeed 
they  were  about  the  only  ones  who  did.  The  marvel  was 
that  this  barbarian  should  have  had  the  courage  and  address 
to  make  the  truth  a  practical  reality,  and  put  it  into  execu- 
tion. It  is  one  thing  to  perceive  the  foolishness  of  supersti- 
tion, and  quite  another  to  break  down  a  whole  religion. 
When  Kamehameha  began  his  career  the  priesthood  was 
far  more  powerful  than  he.  AVhen  he  died  they  were  as 
powerless  in  secular  matters  as  the  Pope  now  is  in  Italy. 
The  finishing  stroke  was  given  when  his  dead  body,  as  yet 
unburied,  was  awaiting  the  obsequies.  His  widow  and  son 
deliberately  broke  many  of  the  most  sacred  tabus,  and 
enjoined  the  same  sacrilegious  acts  upon  their  households 
and  followers.  They  were  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  ex- 
ample was  followed  by  the  whole  nation.  Next  the  temples 
were  despoiled,  the  images  of  the  gods  broken  and  burned, 
and  the  priest*  themselves  driven  into  the  forests  and  jun- 
gles. 

An  act  so  sweeping  and  revolutionary  as  the  trampling 
under  foot  of  the  most  binding  superstition  or  religious 
conviction  that  ever  held  sway  over  the  human  race,  would 
never  have  been  ventured,  if  the  people  had  not  been 
gradually  wrought  up  to  it.  In  truth,  Kamehameha  had 
first  revolutionized  the  whole  social  and  political  condition 


25 

of  his  people,  and  had  elevated  them  immensely  against  the 
influences  of  a  priestcraft  which  was  all  the  time  striving 
to  hold  them  down.  When  the  issue  came  the  King  tri- 
umphed, and  the  priest  was  overthrown.  It  was  probably 
this  change  which  prepared  the  Hawaiian  people  for  what 
followed.  It  established  the  kingly  power  independently 
of  a  priesthood,  and  left  the  people  without  a  religion. 

The  year  following  this  important  event  the  missionaries 
landed  there  for  the  first  time.  They  soon  secured  the  good 
will  of  the  second  Kamehameha,  and  found  their  work  a 
comparatively  easy  one.  To  the  missionaries  is  due  the 
credit  of  having  been  the  agents  through  whom  civilization 
was  imparted  to  the  islands.  Those  who  are  specially  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  foreign  missions  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  regarding  the  Hawaiian  Islands  as  a  signal  in- 
stance of  the  triumph  of  Protestant  propagandism.  On  the 
whole,  there  is  a  large  measure  of  justice  in  this  claim. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  a  closer  view  will  probably  dis- 
close to  the  impartial  mind  the  fact  that,  while  the  amount 
of  Christian  proselytism  has  been  very  considerable,  the 
outside  view  of  it  is  somewhat  overdrawn.  There  are  cer- 
tainly many  devout  Christians  among  the  Hawaiians,  but 
there  are  also  many  who  cherish  their  old  religion,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  are  more  or  less  tinctured  with  their 
ancient  superstitions.  But  whatever  doubts  may  arise  as 
to  the  complete  success  of  the  propaganda,  there  can  be 
none  as  to  their  success  in  imparting  civilization.  Fortu- 
nately they  had  to  deal  with  and  through  a  succession  of 
kings  who  were  men  of  pre-eminent  sense  and  of  practical 

wisdom,  and   who   knew   how   to  manage   their   subjects. 
4 


26 

They  were  kings  in  the  best  possible  signification.  Royalty 
was  inborn  in  them,  and  the  loyalty  of  their  subjects  was 
such  that  the  loyalty  of  an  Englishman  is  a  feeble  senti- 
ment in  comparison.  The  Kamehamehas,  from  the  II  to 
to  V,  inclusive,  were  quick  to  recognize  the  advantages  of 
civilization,  and  had  wonderful  tact  in  discriminating  bo- 
tween  good  and  bad  advice.  The  missionaries  proved  to 
be  discreet  and  judicious  advisers,  and  gradually  the  tran- 
sition from  barbarism  to  civilization  was  effected  safely,  step 
by  step;  the  government  was  transformed  into  a  constitu- 
tutional  monarchy,  the  feudal  tenure  of  lands  was  changed 
to  fee  simple.  Statute  laws  were  enacted  and  codified,  and 
suffrage  was  made  as  broad  and  liberal  as  in  America. 
Perhaps  the  most  important  step  was  compulsory  educa- 
tion, which  is  provided  for  by  the  State,  and  to-day  it  is 
hard  to  find  a  native  who  cannot  read,  write,  and  cipher. 

The  economic  condition  of  the  Hawaiian  is  probably 
superior  at  the  present  time  to  that  of  any  other  tropical 
people  in  the  world;  and,  on  the  whole,  I  think  it  quite 
safe  to  say  that  it  is  but  very  little  surpassed,  if  at  all,  by 
that  of  the  working  classes  of  America.  He  has  even  more  to 
eat  and  better  food,  plenty  of  beef,  pork,  and  fish,  and  could 
have  an  abundance  of  flour  if  he  desired  it,  but  he  prefers 
his  taro.  He  owns  his  property  in  fee ;  he  makes  laws  and 
executes  them ;  he  reads  and  writes ;  he  has  but  one  wife ; 
he  tills  the  soil  and  tends  flocks;  sometimes  he  accumu- 
lates wealth,  and  sometimes  he  does  not ;  he  makes  his  will 
in  due  form,  dies  and  receives  a  Christian  burial.  In  no 
land  in  the  world  is  property  more  secure.  Indeed,  I  have 
yet  to  learn  of  any  where  it  is  equally  secure  from  burglary, 


27 

rapine,  and  thievery  or  those  subtler  devices  by  which  the 
cunning  get  possession  of  the  property  of  the  less  astute 
without  giving  an  equivalent  for  it.  The  few  relics  of  bar- 
barism remaining  are  of  the  most  harmless  description,  and 
probably  quite  as  good  for  him  as  anything  he  might  adopt 
in  place  of  them. 

Unfortunately  the  population  is  rapidly  decreasing.  A 
century  ago  a  fair  estimate  would  probably  have  been  over 
150,000.  To-day  the  native  population  is  45,000  to  50,000. 
The  causes  of  this  decrease  are  many.  It  has  usually  been 
attributed  to  diseases  brought  by  contact  with  the  whites. 
While  it  is  indisputable  that  such  diseases  have  in  a 
measure  contributed  to  the  result,  I  believe  there  is  still 
another  cause  at  work  tending  to  the  same  result,  which  is 
as  follows:  The  Hawaiian  is  the  most  amiable  and  social 
creature  in  the  world.  Life  without  plenty  of  society  is 
intolerable  to  him.  He'is  also  fond  of  display — of  giving 
feasts,  of  treating,  and  extravagantly  fond  of  dress,  horses, 
and  sport.  His  instinct  is  to  leave  the  country  and  crowd 
into  the  towns.  This  is  as  common  among  the  women  as 
among  the  men.  But  to  live  in  town,  or  to  indulge  in  dis- 
sipation, requires  money,  and  therefore  a  family  is  a  burden , 
especially  to  women,  who  are  so  fond  of  gaiety.  There  is, 
therefore,  a  deliberate  and  willful  curtailment  of  the  birth- 
rate ;  and  in  my  judgment  this  has  been  not  much  less  po- 
tent in  reducing  the  population  than  the  abnormal  increase 
in  the  death-rate. 

The  government  of  the  islands  is  now  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  The  king  is  the  chief  executive  officer,  and  his 
powers,  though  in  theory  no  greater  than  those  of  the 


28 

English  sovereign,  air  in  reality  much  more  extensive  and 
effectual.  The  legislative  branch  consists  of  a  representa- 
tive assembly  elected  biennially  by  the  people,  and  a  house 
of  nobles  limited  by  the  constitution  to  twenty  members. 
The  nobles  are  appointed  for  life  by  the  king,  but  their 
titles  are  not  hereditary.  The  judiciary  is  organized  upon 
a  plan  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  New  York  State,  though 
considerably  simpler.  At  the  head  of  the  judicial  branch 
is  the  chief  justice  or  chancellor  and  two  vice-chancellors, 
who  perform  the  functions  of  a  supreme  court  and  final 
court  of  appeals.  They  have  also  original  jurisdiction  in 
a  wide  range  of  subjects,  and  indeed  in  almost  all  important 
cases  of  whatsoever  nature.  Each  of  these  justices  holds 
circuit  courts  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  at  which 
cases  are  tried  both  originally  and  on  appeal.  There  are 
also  lower  courts  in  which  petty  cases  are  tried,  and  in 
which  more  important  ones  may  originate.  The  higher 
judges  are  white  men  truly  learned  in  the  law,  and  they 
have  reflected  honor  upon  their  profession  and  upon  their 
adopted  country.  All  of  them  are  Americans,  and  re- 
ceived their  education  and  training  in  law  in  the 
United  States.  The  primary  judges  are  in  some  cases 
whites,  in  others  natives.  The  native  judges  were  for- 
merly appointed  by  the  chancellor,  but  are  now  appointed 
by  the  crown.  There  is  generally  much  difficulty  in  finding 
men  of  native  birth  who  possess  the  requisite  legal  knowledge 
and  experience.  Their  intentions  are  always  of  the  best, 
but  their  tendency  is  to  construe  law  in  accordance  with 
their  own  notions  of  abstract  justice  rather  than  upon  legal 
principles,  and  few  of  them  are  capable  as  yet  of  under- 


29 

standing  the  value  and  significance  of  precedents.  But 
the  higher  courts  are  always  open  to  appeal.  The  adminis- 
tration of  law  is  excellent,  and  will  on  the  whole  compare 
favorably  with  any  country  in  the  world.  The  respect  of 
the  native  for  statute  law  is  very  great,  and  the  sheriff, 
policeman,  or  tax  gatherer,  has  no  more  difficulty  in  exe- 
cuting his  process  than  in  England  or  Massachusetts ;  indeed, 
he  has,  if  anything,  less  difficulty. 

The  statutory  code  is  in  general  modeled  after  that  of 
New  York,  though  it  is  apparent  that  in  matters  of  detail 
many  minor  differences  were  at  the  first  and  still  are  neces- 
sary. But  the  underlying  principles  are  identical.  The 
tenure  of  real  estate,  the  laws  relating  to  liens  and  mort- 
gages, to  wills  and  inheritance  of  property,  to  bankruptcy 
and  debt,  to  marriage  and  divorce,  to  partnership  and  cor- 
porations, are  founded  upon  those  of  New  York  State. 
The  system  of  jurisprudence  is  also  fundamentally  the  same. 
There  are  many  differences  of  detail  and  these  are  some- 
times wide,  but  never  so  wide  as  to  constitute  differences  of 
principle.  The  processes  of  the  courts  are  more  frequently 
summary,  and  their  action  is  much  more  speedy  and  direct. 
Devices  for  protracting  and  complicating  litigation  have 
not  as  yet  been  developed  to  any  great  extent. 

All  laws  are  enacted  by  the  legislature,  which  regulates 
taxation  and  customs,  and  appropriates  specifically  for  all 
public  expenditures.  In  theory  the  powers  of  this  body 
are  very  nearly  the  same  in  their  broader  features  as  those 
of  one  of  our  State  legislatures.  The  members  of  the  lower 
house  are  elected  biennially  and  are  mostly  natives.  In 
practice,  however,  there  is  a  wide  difference.  In  England 


3° 

and  America  the  representative  body  dominates  everything 

and  everybody,  especially  the  chief  magistrate.  In  Hawaii 
the  king  dominates  the  representative  body.  This  arises 
from  the  fact  that  this  people  has  always  been  intensely 
loyal  to  the  king  for  scores  of  generations,  and  the  habit  of 
unquestioning  submission  to  the  royal  will  is  far  too  strongly 
settled  and  ingrained  to  be  readily  shaken  off.  The  want 
of  experience  in  self-government  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
and  the  habit  of  absolute  command  011  the  part  of  the  kings, 
will  suggest  the  explanation  of  the  great  influence,  which 
the  king  holds  over  the  legislature. 

At  the  present  time  the  condition  of  the  people  of  the 
islands  is  one  of  great  prosperity,  and  they  are  rapidly  ad- 
vancing in  wealth  and  general  improvement.  The  reciproc- 
ity treaty  now  existing  between  the  islands  and  the  United 
States  has  been  mutually  beneficial.  Large  amounts  of 
American  capital  have  been  invested  there  in  sugar  planta- 
tions, and  in  the  commerce  with  the  little  kingdom.  The 
result  has  been  to  give  abundant  employment  to  the  entire 
population.  Wages  are  high,  and  all  the  produce  of  the 
islands  brings  good  prices.  Thus  the  condition  of  the  na- 
tives has  been  greatly  improved.  They  are  no  longer  idlers, 
but  the  recipients  of  well-earned  wages  and  incomes.  They 
are  rapidly  replacing  their  primitive  grass  houses  with  neat 
frame  buildings,  built  in  the  regular  California  cottage 
style.  They  have  adopted  civilized  clothing,  hats,  boots, 
and  shoes,  and  the  women  cultivate  the  fashions  as  eagerly  as 
our  own  farmers'  wives  and  daughters,  and  it  is  by  no  means 
uncommon  to  see  them  clothed  in  silks  or  delicate  woolen 
fabrics,  or  white  lawns  made  in  scrupulous  regard  to  the 


latest  numbers  of  Harpers  Bazaar.  They  wear  them  as 
easily  and  naturally  as  the  mulattoes,  or  quadroons  in  our 
own  country.  The  women  of  rank  are  ladies  who  are  com- 
petent to  sustain  with  grace  and  dignity  all  the  appearances 
of  cultivated  society,  though  it  would  be  expecting  too  much 
to  look  for  any  high  degrees  of  mental  culture  according  to 
the  rigorous  standard  of  the  great  white  nations.  Both, 
men  and  women,  however,  are  quick  to  catch  the  externals 
of  social  customs  and  refinement.  The  better  culture, 
however,  will  come  in  time  as  wealth,  and  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  of  civilized  life  increase  among  them. 

One  of  the  most  important  agencies,  and  perhaps  the  most 
important,  has  been  the  enforcement  of  edxication.^  Common 
schools  are  sustained  at  public  expense,  and  a  college  for 
the  higher  education  has  been  established.  Unfortunately 
the  natives  have  never  been  taught  to  speak  the  English 
language,  and  this  has  been  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
their  intellectual  advancement.  It  is  far  easier  for  aAvhite 
man  to  acquire  the  Hawaiian  language  than  for  the 
Hawaiian  to  acquire  English,  and  as  a  consequence  few  of 
the  natives  are  able  to  converse  or  read  except  in  their  own 
tongue.  On  the  other  hand,  the  white  residents  can  con- 
verse easily  with  the  natives,  and  some  of  them  have  ob- 
tained an  excellent  knowledge  of  the  Hawaiian  language, 
while  almost  all  the  whites  can  at  least  use  an  intelligible 
jargon.  The  defect  is  in  some  measure  offset  by  the  exten- 
sive use  of  books  and  newspapers  printed  in  the  Hawaiian 
language,  and  by  a  postal  system  which,  under  the  circum- 
stances, is  a  highly  creditable  one  to  the  nation.  By  means 
of  the  newspapers  the  natives  are  kept  fully  informed  about 


32 

their  own  affairs,  ami  receive  considerable  knowledge  of 
the  great  far-off'  world  beyond  the  sea.  That  the  papers 
and  postal  system  have  been  of  great  potency  and  utility  to 
them  is  sufficiently  apparent. 

Whoever  wishes  for  a  delightful  and  instructive  journey 
will  do  well  to  visit  these  islands.  They  are  only  seven 
days'  sail  from  San  Francisco  in  a  first-class  steamer,  and 
across  an  ocean  which  is  rarely  troubled  with  storms.  He 
will  find  scenery  as  beautiful  as  any  in  the  world,  and  as 
novel  as  it  is  beautiful.  He  will  find  charming  society 
among  his  own  people  residing  there,  and  unbounded  hos- 
pitality. If  he  is  philosophically  disposed  he  Avill  find 
many  instructive  subjects  for  his  contemplation.  If,  with- 
out forgetting  for  a  moment  the  splendor  of  the  civilization 
in  which  he  has  been  reared,  he  can  rise  above  its  preju- 
dices, and  if  he  is  able  to  study  men  and  human  society 
from  a  relative  rather  than  an  arbitrary  standpoint,  and 
judge  them  according  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
human  nature,  he  will  find  his  own  humanities  greatly  en- 
larged, and  he  will  be  much  instructed  and  benefited. 


UNIVERSITY  CF  CAfjn 


THE 

KSITY  OF  CAU 


